Emptying out the notebook after a day of travel, coffee and more coffee (and then potato chips for dinner, which was a poor choice).

⚖️ Crime & punishment: Former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson is heading to prison for the next decade, after being sentenced yesterday for defrauding investors and lenders.

• That's less than the 37 years he could have gotten, but infinitely more than the zero years that Watson's attorneys had requested.
• It probably didn't help that Watson has continually claimed to have been unfairly targeted, despite spearheading one of the most brazen frauds in startup history.

💰 No coming attraction: Enterprise AI startup Glean isn't going public any time soon, CEO Arvind Jain told me last night at a pre-AI+ Summit reception.

• The company was valued at $4.6 billion in its most recent round — a higher mark than the last pre-IPO round for Rubrik, which Jain also co-founded — but he believes the private markets are more "flexible" for both growth and raising capital.
• He might not be wrong about that last part, given where we are in the AI hype cycle. But it's still a stunning statement.

🏛️ D.C. debates: The Senate's antitrust subcommittee today holds its 20th and final hearing of this Congress.

• Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) acknowledges to me that there have been more bipartisan bills proposed than passed, but believes that there is increased public awareness of antitrust as a policy concern (as opposed to just a legal one) than there was two years ago, and even name-checked VP-elect JD Vance.
• She also says she's "heard good things" about incoming DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater, and that she has areas of both agreement and disagreement with incoming FTC chair Andrew Ferguson (whom the Senate won't vote on).

🔮 You turn: Friday's issue of Pro Rata is our last one of 2024, which means it's time for your one-line predictions for the year ahead.

• Please send them by hitting reply to this email ([email protected]), and try to make 'em snappy.

Virgin Music, a unit of Universal Music Group, has agreed to buy indie music publisher and services firm Downtown Music for $775 million.

Why it's the BFD: Big labels are using M&A to dive deeper into indie music, particularly its DIY distribution techniques, even if such deals destroy the "indie" cred.

The bottom line: "Downtown was founded in 2007 as a music publishing company but has since expanded into a broader array of services for artists, including helping them make, distribute and market their music, as well as collect royalties." — Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg

• Hostaway, a Finnish short-term property rental platform, raised $365m at a $925m post-money valuation. General Atlantic led, and was joined by insider PSG Equity. axios.link/4015XRx

• Avalanche, a Layer-1 blockchain project, raised $250m in a token sale co-led by Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly, and ParaFi Capital. axios.link/4iEHN7x

• Tyme Group, a Singapore-based digital bank, raised $250m in Series D funding. Nubank led with a $150m investment, and was joined by M&G Catalyst Fund and insiders. axios.link/4gg43Dq

🚑 Precision Neuroscience, a brain-computer interface startup, raised $102m in Series C funding. General Equity Holdings led, and was joined by B Capital, Duquesne Family Office, Stanley F. Druckenmiller, and Steadview Capital. axios.link/3BzmXpK

⚡ Nanoramic, a Boston-based battery materials startup, raised $44m. General Motors Ventures and Catalus Capital co-led, and were joined by Samsung Venture Investment, Top Material, Fortistar Capital, and WindSail Capital Group. axios.link/4iDe5Qw

🏀 Unrivaled, the upcoming 3-on-3 women's basketball league, raised $28m in Series A funding. The Berman family led, and was joined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dawn Staley, Linda Henry, Michael Phelps, and JuJu Watkins. axios.link/3ZVzqgB

🚑 Fluid Biomed, a Canadian developer of vascular disease devices, raised $27m in Series A funding. Amplitude Ventures led, and was joined by IAG Capital Partners, LifeArc Ventures and existing investors ShangBay Capital, and Metis Innovative. fluidbiomed.com

🚑 Anatomy Financial, a provider of digital document lockboxes for health-care practices, raised a $19 million Series A, per Axios Pro. Canapi Venture led, and was joined by insider Lightspeed Venture Partners. axios.link/41CSL7K

• Agave Games, a Turkish maker of casual mobile games (e.g., Find the Cat), raised $18m in Series A funding. Felix Capital and Balderton co-led, and were joined by E2VC. axios.link/4fv3DYI

• Nuon, an SF-based "bring your own cloud" startup, raised $16.5m. Uncork Capital and M12 co-led, and were joined by Alumni Ventures, Deep Acre, Essence Venture Capital, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, and Red Swan Ventures. nuon.co

• Vaeridion, a German electric plane-maker, raied €14m in Series A funding. World Fund led, and was joined by Project A Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, Andreas Kupke, Schwarz Holding, and InnovationQuarter. axios.link/41JHbaG

• Zingbus, an Indian electric intercity bus platform, raised $9m in Series A funding from BP Ventures. axios.link/4gAv2cs

🚑 Arya, a sexual wellness startup, closed an $8.5m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Ibex Investors led, and was joined by Play Ventures, Patron and Big Bets VC. axios.link/3VEkyAY

🚑 Promise Bio, an Israeli precision medicine startup, raised $8.3m in seed funding led by Awz Ventures. promise.bio

• Volume, a one-click payment startup, raised $6m in seed funding led by United Ventures. axios.link/3VKHtdL

• Mantis Robotics, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based developer of physical AI for robotic automation, raised $5m. Emerald Technology Ventures led, and was joined by Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. mantis-robotics.com

• Bikmo, a U.K. provider of cycling insurance, raised £4.75m led by Puma Growth Partners. axios.link/3OWYk9o

• TG0, a British developer of touch-sensing tech, raised £4.5m in Series B funding. NetmindAI led, and was joined by WP Health. axios.link/4giFhT4

• Synthavo, a German spare parts platform for machine manufacturers, raised €4m in seed funding co-led by Samaipata and Senavo. axios.link/3VEiJUE

• Meight, a Portuguese freight trucking management platform, raised €3.4m led by Cusp Capital. axios.link/3ZYkEpB

• Juicyway, a cross-border stablecoin startup, raised $3m in pre-seed funding. P1 Ventures led, and was joined by Ventures Platform, Future Africa, and Magic Fund. axios.link/3ZDT5QU

• Radar, a New York-based inventory tracking startup, is raising $50m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3BwJRhn

⚡ ArcLight Capital Partners agreed to buy a 25% stake in the Gulf Coast Express pipeline in Texas from Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) for $865m. axios.link/3P0CCRZ

• CVC Capital Partners is weighing a bid for Vivendi's (Paris: VIV) 24% stake in Telecom Italia (Milan: TIT), which could fetch around €1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3ZWeJBh

• Equals Group (LSE: EQLS), a British payments firm, is being taken private for £283m by J.C. Flowers and TowerBrook. axios.link/4gDfC7h

🚑 Everise, a health care customer experience company backed by Warburg Pincus, acquired Continuum Global Solutions, a Dallas-based customer experience management company. weareeverise.com

• Godspeed Capital acquired BNP Associates, a Denver-based consultancy for the air transportation industry. bnpassociates.com

🚑 Heritage Group invested in Nationwide Medical, a Calabasas, Calif., provider of home medical equipment and clinical services for people with chronic sleep and respiratory conditions. nationwidemedical.com

• Whistler Capital Partners acquired GXP-Storage, a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of regulated material management services. gxp-storage.com

• Jeff Zucker and RedBird Capital are backing Prologue Entertainment, a new studio founded by entertainment veterans Lloyd Braun, Sarah Bremner and Noah Oppenheim. axios.link/3BAFPo9

• Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) acquired Card Industry Professionals, a British payments tech firm backed by Mercia Ventures. axios.link/4gBgY2v

• Upbound Group (Nasdaq: UPBD) agreed to buy Brigit, a New York-based financial health startup, for upwards of $460m. Brigit had raised over $120m from firms like Lightspeed Venture Partners and DCM Ventures. axios.link/3DmBqWv

• Arctic Wolf agreed to buy the assets of endpoint security firm Cylance from BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) for $160m. axios.link/4geTnVx

🚑 Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) acquired Intera Oncology, a Wellesley, Mass., developer of hepatic artery infusion therapy devices. axios.link/3ZEh9mO

• Crypto.com acquired Abu Dhabi-based brokerage Orion Principals. axios.link/3ZDTz9G

• FIS (NYSE: FIS) agreed to buy Demica, a London-based provider of supply chain financing, for around $300m, per Sky News. axios.link/3OY5OJi

• Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) said it's considering a spinoff of its aerospace business, amid pressure from activist investor Elliott. axios.link/3ZTAFwW

• Icon Luxury Group and CP Brands Group acquired British shirtmaker Thomas Pink from LVMH. axios.link/4gcJHuC

⚡ Kosmos Energy (NYSE: KOS) ended its pursuit of Tullow Oil. axios.link/4fkSutd

• Steve Madden (Nasdaq: SHOO) acquired luxury essentials brand ATM. axios.link/4gBhnSz

• Constellation Wealth Capital raised more than $1b for its debut private equity fund, focused on the wealth management sector. constellationwealthcapital.com

• Michael Bosworth (ex-Google) and Kavan Canekeratne (JPMorgan, Draper Dragon) both joined CoinFund. coinfund.io

• CPP Investments named Sam Blaichman as head of global direct private equity, replacing Hafiz Lalani. It also named Pascal Keutgens as head of direct PE in Europe and Prakul Kaushiva as head of Asia PE. axios.link/3ZJ7xqK

• Updata Partners promoted Justin Williams to VP. axios.link/3P1GAdc

Blue Owl Capital shares hit an all-time high yesterday, on an FT report that firm co-founder Michael Rees is "seeking to engineer a multiway merger to create a diversified alternative investment giant in the mould of Blackstone and KKR."

• Rees is the founder of Dyal Capital Partners, a GP stakes firm that in 2021 merged with direct lender Owl Rock Capital in 2021, via a SPAC structure.
• Internal relations between the two sides were dicey for a while, although seem to have since settled down.